


Regal Drinking

by MeltyRum



Category: Fate/EXTRA, VA-11 Hall-A (Video Game), 龍が如く | Ryuu ga Gotoku | Yakuza (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22377658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyRum/pseuds/MeltyRum
Summary: These two again.
Collections: Boku no Hero Academia x Persona





	Regal Drinking

She hadn’t been at the Regal for very long, but Dana had grown more or less comfortable behind the bar. It certainly—to her, anyway—seemed easier than the work that the men were tasked with, entertaining ladies and making them feel important and liked all day. It really seemed to come naturally to most of them, though, and it quickly became apparent that many of the hosts were well-practiced at their art. Helping matters was the fact that most of the regular clientele were surprisingly polite and normal; problem customers were still a daily occurrence, but the manager was quite proficient with handling those situations.

Meanwhile, Dana dispensed drinks for delivery, which—outside of needing to add a little extra water, ice, or soda to the guys’ drinks—was easy enough, even for someone who used to spend her time looking tough for a living. Of course, there were times that she was expected to socialize—particularly if there was no room on the floor, or if someone’s favorite boy had been taken. It wasn’t uncommon for her to host a lady or two herself, albeit for only a short while.

So Dana was prepared when an attractive womanly figure came to stand at her bar, if not prepared for who it _was_.

“I heard that I might see you here, Dana-san,” said her guest, with a smile that radiated confidence and self-satisfaction.

Despite this customer’s distinct pink hair and brown, fox-like ears, Dana very nearly didn’t recognize Tamamo outside of the luxurious blue robes and twin-tails which she had seen at Nomae; this elaborate attire had ostensibly been traded in for a more traditional-looking dress, sweater, and ponytail, which had been secured with a cute little ribbon. While certainly still cute, her bearing struck Dana as completely different when adorned in the clothes of this era.

“Nomae-san; I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Am I taking too long to pay the tab?” asked Dana, a little tickled to have such a familiar visitor.

Tamamo waved her hand dismissively. “No, no—of course not! You’ve plenty of time, although I hope you don’t plan to keep me waiting,” she said, with a seductive smile that no doubt worked wonders on her customers. “But since you found a position here, I thought I would pay my respects.”

“Well, I won’t ask where you heard about me, but thanks. You’re not here to see any of the guys?”

“Since you haven’t yet hired Mine-sama, I think I’ll just have a drink,” said Tamamo, not missing a beat as she slid onto a stool across from her.

“Should’ve guessed.” Dana smirked a little, drifting toward the glasses. “What can I get you, then?”

“I will drink whatever you’re confident in—but I’d like it served in a flute glass,” she said with her forefinger raised, as though punctuating a particularly principal point.

Dana tried to ignore the feeling that this was some sort of test—like she was supposed to match a drink to the glass, or something. Deciding it would be best to just go with her gut, she prepared a flute glass as ordered before she went about gathering the ingredients for a more simple cocktail, figuring it wouldn’t do to try _too_ hard to impress Tamamo. The ingredients should be able to speak for themselves, and all that—although Dana had no idea how much money the Regal may or may not be shelling out for quality alcohol.

Still, best to start simple. Tamamo seemed like the kind of woman who would enjoy a cup of sake now and again.

Before even a minute had passed, she had set a tall glass before Tamamo, rather pleased with the milky color and faint hint of bubbly carbonation. “There you are. One sake sour for the lady with the groomed tail. I hope it’s to your taste.”

With a gracious nod and a content smile, Tamamo took the drink in hand and helped herself to some of it with her usual poise, taking in what appeared to be a very carefully measured mouthful. Dana tried not to hold her breath, knowing that the fox-girl probably had a fair number of years’ experience on her. And with tastes so rich that they included Yoshitaka Mine, she probably wasn’t that easy a woman to impress. That said, Dana would be lying if she said she didn’t have at least _some_ confidence in the basics, so she awaited a positive—if not necessarily glowing—review.

It took Tamamo another thoughtful sip before she set the glass back down, holding her silence and swishing her tail to and fro as she worked out her impressions and mulled over the flavors. Maybe she wasn’t too much of a critic, after all?

“How do I put it?” asked Tamamo, tapping a fingertip to her chin. “It’s… nothing special!” she announced, looking rather pleased regardless.

“Wow. For some reason, I expected you to be a little more diplomatic, Nomae-san,” replied Dana, laughing dryly at the criticism.

“Well, it’s not bad for a customer who doesn’t want to taste the sake too well,” came the reply, apparently not realizing the further damage this caused. “And—more importantly—for someone who has been here for less than a month, it’s a passable effort; I’ll happily drink it.”

Dana laughed a little harder. “Well, I guess it’s good to get a little honest criticism; my boss just always says it’s ‘good enough’. Could be the alcohol’s a secondary attraction, after all,” she said, looking out to the customers.

Tamamo shook her head. “Not at all! A stiff drink helps a lady feel sophisticated and confident, don’t you think? Just what she needs when she’s being pampered by hosts.”

“I hope so. Well, whether it’s ‘good enough’ or not, I should thank you for your advice, Nomae-san: talking to the chairman and getting moved here… it’s working out pretty well, so far. And you can guess I’m not exactly with the clan anymore—so I guess we’re no longer enemies.”

With an exaggerated severity, Tamamo shook her head. “No, Dana-san. Since you’re behind a bar, we are still competitors. Even if your drinks won’t be stealing my customers any time soon, one never knows what might happen.”

The bartender smiled, uncertain whether Tamamo was just joking around or hinting at the dynamic of some rivalry which had hitherto gone unnoticed by her.

“But we serve different clientele, right?” asked Dana. “Only ladies come here.”

Tamamo looked slightly offended, one furry ear twitching irritably. “I’ll have you know that Nomae caters to a diverse audience—including other women! They like to talk just as much as men do.”

“I see, I see. That _would_ be good for your business.” Dana nodded gravely, understanding. “Then I guess you’re right: we’re competitors. Although I don’t think you have too much to fear from me; this is an honest establishment, you know? No angry suits backing us up, so I’m sure Nomae will maintain its superiority just fine.”

She paused, deciding it would be best to leave things there. There were a lot of bars in Tokyo, after all—no need to start fearing one another, right?

“But maybe that’s enough talk of business,” continued Dana. “Have you made any progress with Mine-san?”

Tamamo’s smile softened a little bit. “That will take time, Dana-san. A strategy for earning Mine-sama’s affections must be aged appropriately—like sake. You suggested I ponder my approach, after all. And he’s seeing someone else, so that makes things a little more tough. He may never return to my bar, so I’ll have to think of other ways to see him!”

“And do you have many plans for that?”

“Just a few. Visiting him at his office is too obvious; something more organic would be much better! I could probably learn his schedule if I tried, but that might be going too far. Even if I did, I don’t always have business in the same places as him…” She sighed, having another dainty sip of her drink. “If only he were a woman, we could hope for a chance meeting in the powder room or some-such,” she lamented, the longing in her voice a little painful to listen to.

Still, Dana found it hard not to be amused, and that last bit had intrigued her. If only he were a woman? It really did sound as though Tamamo’s only standards for love was that her lover was Mine, everything else be damned.

“So you would like Mine-san even if he wasn’t a man?”

“Of course!” exclaimed Tamamo, her ears standing straight up. “Gender is no boundary for love!”

“I’ll have to give you that one,” said Dana, smiling as she bowed her head. There was no winning against Tamamo. She knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was Mine, although the reasons for this were still anyone’s guess. “In a way, maybe that’d make him even more impressive—being a woman, I mean. You don’t see that many of them at the top of such strong families, even now.”

Tamamo considered that with a slightly confused look on her face, as though having trouble coming to terms with the idea that Mine might not have already hit the very peak of impressiveness. “On the other hand, he’s already so handsome… I’m not sure I could bear to see him changed.” She paused, though, apparently realizing how shallow that sounded. “Of course, I would still remain by his side! Even if my beloved Mine-sama’s face is vandalized by Shimada hooligans—or even if it takes on womanly features—or grows a beard—or a tattoo—it will always be beautiful to me!”

“Right,” chuckled Dana, as she began to spin up a drink order for one of the host tables. “That certainly sounds like an assertion you would make, Nomae-san.”

Tamamo nodded, apparently satisfied that Dana knew what to expect. “But I’m a little surprised, Dana-san; I didn’t think you would bring up Mine-sama yourself,” The fox-girl’s smile was thin, apparently still sweetly struggling with the source of her desires. “You seem to mind those rumors, after all.”

“Well—whether I buy into those rumors or not—a bartender should know what the customer likes to talk about, right? Just seemed like it would be your favorite subject; I’m actually more surprised you didn’t bring him up first.”

She laughed. “That’s not the only thing I think about!”

“No?” Dana smiled, glad her customer seemed to be enjoying herself. “My bad; my assumptions must have been off.”

At that, Tamamo gave Dana a prim little smile, for a moment searching her eyes with her own. “Well, maybe you’re not wrong: I’m a jealous girl, you know—and for me, it’s fun to fixate on the things I like, so I have to think about him a lot. But I was thinking about you, too, Dana-san. That’s why I’m here now,” she added, the pitch of her voice lowering suggestively.

“That’s true,” Dana conceded, surprised to feel her heart skip a beat. There was a warmth in the woman’s gaze that took her a little by surprise. “It’s pretty flattering, when you put it that way. But don’t think about me _too_ much; things might get complicated if you end up having a crush on me, too.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be so bad,” Tamamo replied, a mischievous smile on her face. “But even if that happened, no one can beat Mine-sama, I am very sorry to say. It would be best to think of me as a happily married wife!”

“Ah, that’s fine; and I’m not the type to chase what I can’t have, so you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Dana reassured her, chuckling. Indeed, Tamamo was quite the lovely woman when you looked past the obsessive hunger she had for a man who—by most other accounts—was ambitious, emotionally unstable, and ruthless.Fortunately, none of the fox’s potential suitors would ever be burdened to look past that obsession, because she was certainly never going to look past it herself.

If anything, it made Dana worry for her—but what was she going to do about it?

Although… she _was_ independent now, she realized. Stirring up a little trouble with the Tojo wouldn’t have any lasting effects that might spread to the Shimada, even if some uninformed people assumed she was still apart of the clan. On the other hand, causing trouble as a banished yakuza might actually spark a bit more controversy than otherwise, now that she thought of it; conflict between yakuza was pretty normal, but if someone like Dana got unruly after what had been a relatively painless separation, it could reflect pretty poorly (and unfairly) on Shimada-kaichou.

Probably better to stay out of it, then, she thought. A guy like Mine wasn’t worth it, and Tamamo had very clearly made up her mind.

“Something distracting you, Dana-san?” asked her guest, tail flicking curiously at the abrupt silence.

Dana shook her head as she was relieved from her musing, surprised to see that Tamamo had gotten to her feet. “Oh—nothing. Sorry about that.”

Tamamo looked amused. “Well, I thank you for the drink, Dana-san,” she said, leaving her payment on the bar. “I will look forward to the next one, which I’m sure will be better. It was good to chat with you again, too! But… you’re sure there’s nothing on your mind? I served you, you know; I know better.”

Dana smiled, deciding there was no reason to hide it any longer. “Can’t keep secrets from a professional, huh? Actually, I was just thinking about you. If the rumors about Mine _are_ true, he seems more likely to harm you than to hug you.”

“Oh! It’s so cute that you worry for me, Dana-san,” replied Tamamo, smiling and putting a hand over her heart, as though she’d just seen a puppy do something indescribably adorable. “But I can take care of myself, so just worry about yourself—until next time!” she called, deciding to “prove” her claim by making cute little claw shapes with her hands as she made for the exit.

For some reason Dana could not explain, it was rather convincing.


End file.
